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A. HARVEY.

DRYING MACHINERY- APPLICATION FILED OCT. 22.1915.

1,319,391. Patented 001. 21,1919.

INVENTOR O Ashton Harvey- A TTORNE YS 'rmz COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH an, WASHINGTON, D. C

A. HARVEY.

DRYING MACHINERY.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 22. 1915.

1 3 1 9, 39 1 Patented Oct. 21, .1919.

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DRYlNG MACHINERY.

APPLICATION FILED 00122. 1915 Patented Oct.

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ASHTON HARVEY, 01F GREENWICI'I, CONNECTICUT.

DRYIN G MACHINERY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 21, 1919.

Application filed October 22, 1915. Serial No. 57,225.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ASHTON HARVEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Greenwich, county of Fairfield, and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Drying Machinery, of which the following is a specification.

In the drying of certain materials, such as white-lead, zinc, or other paint materials in a more or less pulpy or liquid condition, and other liquid or semi-liquid materials, it has been customary to conduct the drying operation under such condition as to constitute a serious menace to health and life of the attendants. This is peculiarly the case in handling or manipulating the dried material or materials, particularly when removing the same from the machine, for the reason that some of the dry powdered material floats in the air around the workmen, and when inhaled is detrimental to health, frequently resulting in a form of poisoning which requires careful, intelligent and prompt treatment.

The object of this invention is to enable the drying of the material and the discharge of the dried material from the machine to be conducted in a thoroughly sanitary and hygienic manner, to the end that the workmen will not be in contact with such material, for the reason that no dust or powder from the material is set free in the air nor will the workman be required to handle the material in the course of the drying thereof or in discharging the same from the machine.

The salient feature of this invention consists in material supporting means positioned within a Chamber for exposure to a drying medium adapted for circulation into contact with the material, said material supporting means being so mounted that the material, subsequent to the drying opera tion, may be discharged from the chamber in a manner to preclude the escape of any fine particles or dustinto the atmosphere, whereby the operations of drying and discharging the material may be carried on in a sanitary and hygienic manner.

In a preferred form of apparatus, the material supporting means are in the form of pivoted trays associated in pairs and positioned one above the other to produce channels for the circulation of the drying medium, said trays being adapted to assume dumping positions wherein the trays of one series are inclined toward the trays of the other series, whereby the two series of trays are operable in discharging their loads towarda delivery device common to both serles of trays, all of the trays and their operating means being incased against the escape into the surrounding atmosphere of dust, particularly in the operation of delivering the material at which time the latter is inevitably subjected to more or less agitation.

With the trays are associated hoisting mechanism of any suitable form, either hand operated or power operated by hydraulic, pneumatic, electric or steam energy, but, preferably, certain parts of said power mechanism are incased for precluding the escape of the material. It is preferred, also, to utilize the hoist as means for retaining the trays in their non-dumping positions.

For discharging the dried material from the machine, a hopper is positioned below the trays, within which hopper operates a conveyer of one form or another. "The en trance to this hopper is closed by doors during the drying operation, but as the trays are dumped for discharging the load there on, the doors are opened, preferably by automatic mechanism, in order that the material may be discharged by gravity from the trays directly into the hopper.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear in the course of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a vertical section through a part of a drying machine embodying this invention, the trays being shown by full lines in their normal operative position, and by dotted lines in their dumping or discharging position.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section taken in the plane indicated by the irregular dotted line 2-2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal plan view through a part of the machine, the plane of the section being indicated by the dotted line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. elis a vertical section through anotherform of apparatus embodying the invention, wherein a single series of trays are employed within a casing, said trays being adapted for dumping movement in one direction or the dotted line 5-5 of Fig. 41.

10, 11 designate trays positioned within a chamber 12 of a casing 13. There may be, and preferably is, a plurality of the charm bers 12, and within each of said chambers are two series of the trays 10, 11. A series of the trays 10 are provided within each chamber 12, the trays of the series being positioned one above'theother, and each tray being hingedly or pivotally mounted as at 14. In like manner, a series of trays 11 are positioned within the chamber one above the other and hingedly or pivotally mounted at '15. 'The trays 10 are hinged at one end,

whereas the tray 11 are hinged at. their opposite ends, whereby thetrays 10, 1 1 are adapted in their normal operative positlon's to contact'with each other at the free ends thereof.

Cooperating with the trays of the two.

series are hoisting bars 16, 17, 18, 19, see Fig 3, said bars being positioned in pairs at. the respective sides of the trays and within the casing 13. The bars 16, 17 cooperate with the series of trays 11, whereas the bars 18, 19 cooperate with the other series of trays 10, for which purpose the bars 16, 17 are connected together by a series of rods 20, whereas the bars 18, 19 are connected by rods 21., The two pairs 16, 17 and 18, 19 are positioned intermediate the hinged ends 14, 15 of-the two series of trays 10, 11, and the rods 20, 21 are positioned below the trays as in Fig. 1, whereby each tray is hinged at one end and is supported on one of the rods at a point intermediate the hinged end of the tray and the free end of said tray.

It will thus be seen that the hinged trays 1O are adapted to be supported by the rods 21 and the hoisting bars 18, 19, 'so that the tray 10 will normally occupy a horizontal position in order to expose the material for contact with the'drying medium adapted to circulate within the chamber 12. In a similar manner the trays 11 of the other series are supported by the rods 20 and the hoisting bars 16, 17 in a horizontal position, the free ends of the trays 10, 11 contacting with each other.

When in horizontal operative positions the pairs of trays are spaced one above the other so to provide channels between the top surfaces of one pairof trays and the bottom surfaces of the other pair of trays immediately thereabove, and in this apparatus certain bafiies or partitions 22, 23 are provided within the chamber 12 so as to direct the drying medium in a tortuous or zigzag path over and beneath the trays substantiallyas indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1. The partitions 22 extend in one direction from a vertical wall 13 of the casing, whereas the other partitions 28 extend in an opposite direction from the wall 13 of said casing, said partitions 22, 23, being in different horizontal planes and in staggered relation so that the drying medium circulating over the trays of one pair will be directed in a downward path and thence circulate in an opposite direction over the trays of the pair next below the preceding pair. Provision is thus made for the repeated contact of the drying medium with the layers of material supported by the horizontal trays, and should itbe desired, the drying medium may be maintained at the uniform temperature, or

the temperature of said drying medium may be raised or increased by any means known to those skilled in the art. 7 V

The drying medium may be air, steam, or direct'gases, and, furthermore,.this drying medium may beat any temperature suitable for effecting the drying of any kind of material under treatment. The drying medium is fed to the chamber through a supply flue 24: and it is conducted outof the chamber by an exit flue 25, the said flues being shown as communicating with the upper and the lower parts of the drying chamber 12, although it is apparent that the flues may be reversed should it be so desired.

The hoisting bars 16 to 19 inclusive serve two functions, first, as a means for retaining the material supporting trays in their horizontal operative positions, and, second, as a means for raising or lowering said trays in order to permit the trays to drop into downwardly inclined positions, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, for the purpose of discharging the dried material from the trays, said trays being dropped simultaneously in the discharging operation.

According to this invention the dried material is discharged from the trays without opening the casing 13 in order to preclude the dissemination of loose material into the atmosphere surrounding the drying machine. To this end,- a hopper 26 is provided below the two series of trays, into which hopper the trays are adapted to' discharge their loads. The hopper is shown as con sisting of inclined walls joined to the lower part of the casing 13 and constructed to form a chamber within which operates a conveyor 27 of any suitable fornn said conveyer being illustrated as a screw conveyer for feeding the dried material out of the hopper. Normally, the entrance to the hopper is cut off by gates 28 which in their horizontal closed positions form the bottom of the exit flue 25. Said gates are positioned below the trays and are hung at 29 to the top portion of the hopper or the bottom wall of the exit flue. Suitable means are provided for raising or lowering the gates 28 in unison with the elevation and lowering of the trays, but as shown in Fig. 1 the operating means are in the form of links 30, the same being pivoted to the gates 28 and to the lowermost trays of the two series. WVhen the hoisting bars and their cross rods are lowered the trays drop to the inclined positions and the links 30 lower the gates 28 within the hopper, whereby the gates 28 are lowered simultaneously with the inclination of the trays, so that the material will be discharged into the hopper, whence the material is removed by the conveyer 27. Upon the elevation of the hoisting bars by any suitable form of hoisting mechanism to be hereinafter described, the rods 20 21 lift the trays 10, 11 into their horizontal contacting positions, whereupon the links 30 raise the gates 28 for cutting off communication between the drying chamber and the hopper chamber.

The hoisting bars 16 to 19 inclusive should operate within the casing 13 in a way to preclude the escape of dust from the material during the operation of drying said material and of dumping the trays for discharging the material. Accordingly, the side walls of the casing 13 are provided with guideways 31 within which the hoisting bars are slidably fitted. The guideways 31 are shown in Fig. 2 as having slots 32 for the vertical movement of wrist pins 33, but these slots 32 are closed by the hoisting bars 16, 19, so that the dried material will not be blown out of the casing by the circulation of the drying medium into contact with thematerial on the trays, nor will the slots 32 be open for the exit of the dried material when the loads are discharged from said trays. The wrist pins 33 afford means whereby a hoisting mechanism is operatively connected with the series of hoisting bars. In the drawings the hoisting mechanism is represented as a mechanical contrivance, the same embodying crank wheels 34 supported by horizontal shafts 35 in suitable bearings of standards 36, said crank wheels 34 having crank pins 37 positioned for cooperation with a crosshead 38 to which is pivoted the links 39 having their lower ends connected by the wrist pins 33 with the hoisting bars 16 to 19 inclusive. The cross head 38 is provided with a guide stud 40 adapted to travel in a guideway 41 provided by the fixed post 42. Suitable means are provided for imparting motion to the crank wheels 34, but when the crosshead 38 is in a raised position the links 39 draw the hoisting bars to the upward limit of their movement within the chamber 12, whereby the bars 20, 21 operate to retain the hinged trays in their normal operative positions. Upon turning the crank wheels 34: simultaneously in one direction the cross-head 38 is lowered and the bars 16 to 19 inclusive are free to descend in the guides thereof, wherebythe rods 20, 21 permit the trays 10, 11 of the two series to drop into the inclined position shown in Fig. 1. The descent of the bars 16 to 19 inclusive, the rods 20, 21 and the trays 10, 11 is facilitated by imposing the weight of the trays and the loads thereof upon the rods 20, 21, and when the trays are inclined downwardly the dried material is free to discharge itself from the trays and to flow by gravity into the hopper, the gates 28 being auton'iatically opened upon the descent of the trays, as heretofore described. For returning the parts to their normal position it is only necessary to turn the crank wheels 34- and lift the cross-head 3S, whereupon the links 39 pull the hoisting bars upwardly, thus raising the rods 20, 21 and the trays of the two series.

It should be remarked that prior to the operation of lowering the trays for discharging the material therefrom the operator should shut off the circulation of the drying medium through the chamber, for which purpose any suitable provision may be made.

It is apparent that minor changes in the details of construction may be made without departing from the invention.

Although I have shown and described as mechanical hoist, it is apparent that others skilled in the art may substitute therefor other forms of hoist to be operated by the energy of other power media, such for example as electrical power, hydraulic power, or pneumatic power. Accordingly, I reserve the right to utilize any suitable power operated mechanism for hoisting the trays.

The number of trays and the construction are not material, for the reason that I may use one or any desired number of trays, and trays of any suitable form may be used.

By the term trays as used in this specification I mean any suitable device for sup porting the material to be treated so as to expose said material for contact with a dry ing medium.

It is apparent, also, that the machine may be employed for treating many different kinds of material.

The apparatus disclosed in Figs. 1. 2 and 3 embodies two series of trays within a closed. chamber, and a mechanical hoist, but

in Figs. 4L and 5 of the drawings there is one below the other and in spaced relation.

As shown, each tray 51 is of such dimensions as to extend substantially from side to side and from front to rear of the chamber, although the dimensions in one direction may be such as to provide ample clear 'relatively to the supporting rods. 40-

ance for the edge portions of the tray when pivotal movement is imparted to said tray. Each tray is hung substantially centrally within the chamber by a rod 52, whereby the tray is adapted to dump in one direction to assumethe inclined position shown in dottedlines in Fig. 4, but it is apparent that the tray may be turned into a dumping position inclined in the opposite direction. Each tray rests on a rod 53 positioned at one side of the pivotal rod 52, whereby the tray has two points of support one of which is the pivotal rod 52 positioned permanently at a given point and the other is the supporting rod 53 which is shiftable to different positions. The rods 53 of the series of trays are attached to hoisting bars 54 slidably guided in the respective sides of the'casing, substantially as heretofore described. The rods 53 are loosely connected with the trays 51, and as shown in Fig. 4, said loose connection is afforded by keep ers 55, the latter being attached to the under surfaces of the trays and fitting loosely on the rods 53 so that the keepers will s lplle e hoisting bars 54 are provided with studs 56 adapted to travel in slots 57 provided in the sides of the casing, said slots being closed by the hoisting bars 54 to preclude the escape of dust from said casing. To the studs 56 is attached the hoisting mem ber 58 shown in Fig. 5 as a bail loosely straddling the upper part of the casing 45. With this hoisting bail is associated a fluidactuated hoisting mechanism, the same comprising a cylinder 59 within which operates a piston (not shown), the rod 60 of said piston depending below the cylinder and having a suitable connection with the hoisting bail 58. The cylinder is adapted to be supported upon the casing 45 by suitable -means such as the stand 61. Connected to the cylinder is a feed pipe 62 and an eX- haust pipe 63, each pipe being provided with a suitable valve 64.

As in the apparatus first described, the drying medium is directed to circulate in a tortuous path so that it will contact with the material supported by the trays, and for this purpose there is provided interiorly of the chamber 45 a number of baflles 65 occupying a staggered relation to the trays 51 so as to direct the drying medium to flow over the trays successively.

The gate 50 is hung on a rod 66 and 1s loosely connected by a keeper 67 with 'a supporting bar 68 attached to the hoisting bars 54, so that the gate is operated simultaneously with the dumping movement of the trays. 1

In order to dump the trays in one direction the motive fluid is admitted to the cylinder through the pipe 62 by opening the cock 64, thereby raising the piston, the bail, the hoisting bars, and the rods 53, whereby the trays 51 are turned to the inclined positions shown in Fig. 4. The material slides by gravity off the trays and into the hopper, said trays being unloaded simultaneously. It is evident that instead of raising the hoisting bars by the fluid-actuated hoisting mech anism the motive fluid may be admitted by the pipe 63 into the cylinder 59 in a manner for the piston to depress the hoisting bars 54, thereby turning the trays 51 to an oppositely inclined position to that shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 4, the effect of which is to discharge the material from the trays by gravity, said material passing directly into the hopper, whence it is removed by the conveyer 49.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: v

1. A drier embodying a suitable casing, a hopper positioned for communication with the bottom portion of said casing, materialsupporting trays positioned within said casing, said trays being pivoted for dumping movement whereby they are inclined toward the hopper so as to effect the discharge of said material directly into the hopper, supporting rods in contact with said trays inter mediate the ends thereof, and hoisting means for raising and lowering said rods.

2. A drier embodying a suitable casing, a hopper positioned for communication with the bottom portion of said casing, a gate for cutting off communication between the hopper and the casing, trays supported within the casing for dumping movement relative to the hopper, supporting rods in contact with said trays intermediate the lends thereof, hoisting means for raising and lowering said rods, and means for operating said gate to eiiect movement thereof in unison with the movement of the trays.

3. In a drier, thecombination with incasing means, of material supporting trays hung for dumping movement therein, slidable hoisting bars having means in contact with said trays, and hoisting means for imparting sliding movement to said bars 4. A drier embodying a chamber closed against free communication with the external atmosphere, means for effecting a circulation of a drying medium to and from said chamber, cooperating trays and baffles positioned within said chamber for directing the circulation of said drying medium in a circuitous path within said chamber, means for imparting pivotal movement to said trays, and material-discharging means below the chamher.

5. A drier embodying a chamber closed against free communication with the external atmosphere, means for conducting a drying medium into and from said chamber, cooperating trays and baflies positioned within said chamber for directing the drying medium in a zig-zag path within the same, means for imparting pivotal movement to said trays whereby the trays are adapted to assume inclined positions for discharging the loads thereon by gravity, a hopper at the bottom of said chamber and into which the material from the trays is adapted to be discharged, and a conveyor operating in said hopper for discharging the material therefrom without opening said chamber.

6. In a drier, the combination with a chamber, and trays pivoted therein, of vertically extending rods contacting with said trays for supporting the latter in operative positions, said rods being independent of the pivots for the trays, and means for shifting said rods vertically, said rods operating to dump the trays and to lift the trays simultaneously.

7. In a drier, the combination with a chamber, of dumping trays positioned therein, each tray having two points of support positioned in different vertical planes, one point of support being shiftable, and hoisting means carrying said shiftable supports for the trays and operating to impart movement in vertical paths to said shiftable supports whereby dumping movement is imparted to the trays, said hoisting means and the shiftable supports operating to lift the trays simultaneously.

8. In a drier, the combination with a chamber, of dumping trays positioned therein, each tray having two points of support one of which is shiftable, hoisting bars carrying said shiftable supports for the trays, and means for imparting movement to said hoisting bars whereby the trays are simultaneously operated to assume dumping positions and are restored simultaneously to normal positions.

9. In a drier, the combination with a closed chamber, of two series of trays positioned therein, said trays being arranged in pairs and being hung for pivotal movement so that the free ends of the trays of each pair are normally in contact, hoisting bars slidable within said chamber, rods carried by said hoisting bars and contacting with said trays for supporting the latter in operative positions, and means for imparting movement to said hoisting bars.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ASHTON HARVEY.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

